“Ultimately you're going to pay the price one way or another,” said Stoker.

An Orange County Grand Jury has indicted the 25-year-old former Montgomery resident on six felonies: five counts of grand larceny and one count scheme to defraud.

“By pretending to have a terminal illness, Vega inexcusably took advantage of the community's hearts and minds, and profited off of their generosity,” Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said. “Our office will hold this individual accountable for fleecing the public through lies and deception.”

Hamlet of Wallkill resident Keri Ciastko, 28, was one of those who helped get the charitable snowball rolling for Vega.

When Vega walked into Bella Couture back in 2010, Ciastko noticed her short cropped hair and need for a wedding dress. She out two and two together and quickly and started making calls.

Ciastko said she helped Vega with everything from a veil to wedding shoes. She said she would the split the costs of wedding items with her sister-in-law Rachel Taylor and pulled money out of her own back account to help Vega.

“I was five months pregnant and up at five in the morning,” said Ciastko.

Ciastko said when she first found out, she was angry.

“I feel kind of betrayed,” said Ciastko.

Preparing for the wedding, Ciastko said Vega's claim of cancer was something she didn't hide.

“It wasn't the elephant in the room,” said Ciastko.

Even when she saw Vega drinking and partying at her wedding, she said she thought it was strange but didn't think much of it. Ciastko said she asked herself what she would do if she were dying. Wouldn't she want to enjoy her time left too?

“I just hope that the truth is found out,” said Ciastko.

The story Vega told in early 2010 was a heartbreaker. Then 23 years old, she claimed to be dying of acute myeloid leukemia. She said she wanted to marry Michael O'Connell, the father of her young daughter, before she died. Friends and strangers rushed to give Vega a beautiful wedding and honeymoon. A Times Herald-Record story about the couple led to more donations.

According to the indictment, Vega accepted thousands of dollars in donated services and goods. The couple married in May 2010, followed by a honeymoon in Aruba.

It all came apart four months later when O'Connell accused Vega of faking the illness and called the Times Herald-Record. Vega had offered a letter, purportedly from a Westchester doctor, as proof of her diagnosis, but the doctor's staff later denied seeing Vega. Along with the felonies, Vega faces a misdemeanor charge of possessing a forged instrument.

O'Connell said the couple divorced over the incident, and he moved to Virginia to find work. On Monday, O'Connell said he later helped Vega join him in Virginia, hoping to help her turn her life around. They now have a second child, and O'Connell said the children need their mother.

“She's a good mom, and that's all that counts at the end of the day,” O'Connell said. “I want my kids to have their mother back.”

O'Connell was once Vega's biggest critic and cooperated with the attorney general's investigation. He still says his ex-wife should repay donors and apologize, but he said mental health treatment is a better option than jail.

The maximum prison sentence for any of the felonies is 4 years. Vega was taken into custody on April 3 in Virginia and extradited to Orange County, where she was arraigned on Friday. She pleaded “not guilty” and was sent to Orange County Jail on $10,000 cash or $30,000 bond. She's due to appear on April 20 in front of Judge Robert Freehill. The state police assisted with the case.

O'Connell said Vega was in good spirits when she spoke to him by phone from jail. He and his family are taking care of the kids in New York, and he's hiring an attorney for Vega.